On the history ofthis monas- tery and its
influence
in both Kham and Amdo, see Ven.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
nlineageheandhissuccessors 900
rises to assume a m a gl:eindication of their continuing
often maintain the ongma tit e as a 901
f C
lar sou
The sacred mountam 0
. . th sternYunnan. ee , .
service to the lineage itself. . £ the fifteen ordinary sacraments (of See the Glossary of Together with the three empower-
empowerment); als. o Fundamenta the' form the eighteen empowerments mentsofprofundity(zab-dbanggsu) y. e ten outer empowerments
of Mahayoga. five inner empowerments of f b fi e (Ph"l phan-pa l a n g ,
902
903
904
905 906
907 908
909
910
911
I ) and the three secret empowerments of profundity (gsang-ba za ;;mo b· t· ns pp 370-9 (GGFTC,
o ene lcenc :. . Y,.
ability (nang nus-pa 1 dbang n:a ,. dbang gsum). Cf. Longcenpa,
Annals, pp. 160-7. . £
See the Glossary of Enumerations. or I ter has also been referred
the five awakenings. Their gen- h b· th of an emanatIona mas . f
eration at t e Ir , r£ 64S above. At the I1me to in the account of Dropukpa sfi 1 e, excellences (,bras-bu 1 enlightenment they bring the buddha-body of phun-sum-tshogs-pa Inga) (S:mantabhadra in the form of V. aJ- rapture, namely, those of teac e r . (Conquerors of the FIve radhara), place time Enlightened FamIlIes and lev) d teaching (ultimate truth m timeless continuity of the 1) Here five parallel ac- which samsara and nirval). a are. 1 zompa are poetically. tod. 's gtreatise' on which see
Fundamenta s, pp'. . ' . Indian poetics studIed m TIbet.
0 1 a real savant would have een n y
familiar with, e. g. ,
For contemporary TIbetan VIews on
the Vivarta or Vartula script, see
66 Notes
History: Part Five 67 931 These are aspects of dream yoga (rmi-lam), for a general introduction
to which see, e. g. , W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doc-
trines, pp. 215ff.
9 3 2 T h e I n d e s t r u c t i b l e N u c l e u s o f I n n e r R a d i a n c e i s t h e d i m e n s i o n o f t h e
buddha-body of reality (dharmakaya); see Fundamentals, p. 115.
933 dgung-keg. This refers to any year, i. e. one's thirteenth, twenty-fIfth, thirty- seventh and so on, in which the animal sign is the same as that under which one
was born. See G. Dorje, Tibetan Elemental DivinaJion Paintings, pp. 229-31. 934 Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Mkhyen-brtse on the History ofthe Dharma, pp. 40-1, defines the trio of Guru, Great Perfection and Great Compas-
sionate One as follows:
The blessed cycles of the peaceful and wrathful Guru. . . ;
the cycles of the Great Perfection, the consummation of all profound paths. . . ; and the cycles for the attainment of the Great Compassionate One, the divine fortune of Tibet, the Land of Snows. . .
935 See above, p. 701.
936 grva'i-dbang-bum. We follow here the explanation of Khetsun Zangpo
Rinpoche.
937 See pp. 825-34.
938 The date of Sangdak Trhinle Lhtindrup's death is calculated according to the new Phukpa school since it has been recorded by his son Dhar- masrI. The date according to the old Phukpa school would have read Sunday 2 March 1662.
939 This is a sign of proficiency in the transference of consciousness ('pho- ba) through which, at the moment of death, one can take rebirth in a pure land or buddha-field such as SukhavatI.
940 bca'.
941 Yangdok (yang-bzlog) is propitiated as a means of averting war and
other unfavourable conditions; it derives from the maI)<;iala ofYangdak Heruka. Drangsong Loktri is a sage and protector from the maI)<;iala of Yamantaka (Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche).
942 As stated in the Fundamentals, p. 104, rtsis dkar-nag reters to Indian astronomy (dkar-rtsis) and Chinese divination (nag-rtsis or 'byung-rtsis).
943 On the rites of service, further service, attainment and great attainment, see n. 499 above.
944 See p. 828.
945 The conferral of every empowerment of the way of secret mantra must
include the disciple's affirmation of the vows of refuge and of the cultivation of the enlightened attitude, in addition to the specific com- mitments associated with the empowerment. Often the layman's vows must be affirmed as well. Cf. the quotation from the Hevajra Tantra given on p. 911.
946 See n. 892 above.
947 Svarodaya is a profound branch of Indian divination and numerology
ascribed to Isvara in its origin. Refer to the life of Mipham Rinpoche
on p. 890; and also to Fundamentals, p. 104.
948 His own extensive commentary on this text, called dpag-bsam snye-ma,
is doubtlessly the most influential one amongst modern Nyingmapa. On the Ascertainment of the Three Vows itself, see p. 808.
912 9 1 3
914
915
916
. .
I a s) and Shel (she! ) are protective
917 918
919
920
921
922
923
924
hich
exquisitely embossed and in which the kIla is kept.
masambhava,Darcaan a ya . . 8
On Ngari PaI)cen, see below, Sakyapa scholars of the This figure (b. 1524) was one 0
with VajrakIla. Our erroneo
C'
usly reads rang lor rong.
T h e t n o o f a c c o r d i n g t o t h r e e d i f f e r e n t k m d s associated wIth Va)raklla, an
. I k-lla - briar iron and crystal. of matena '
n the four modes of life (asrama) The fifth path . death These are the way of the celibate prevalent in cof the· householder (grhasthf), the way
zhal 'chos-pa.
student (brahmacan), _t e w _) of the forest-dweller (ara1Jyavasl
d the way of the homeless mendic-
ant (sannyasf! . HP se-ra phur-mJal. See KG
100-1. The kIla itself is only seen '. pp. ecial empowerment conferred by
an
publicly once each seventeenth of the twelfth month the abbot of Sera Ce 0 I brations. The annual ceremony has as a prelude to the New ear ce e t r community in exile in Mysore,
been maintained by th: Sera e : shrine of the secret attainment India, but the actual remams mbt . : Sera itself. Since 1980, with of Hayagrlva ) . 1 t"ons on the practice of religion the partial relaxatIon of Ian important pilgrimage site.
in Tibet, the shrine . t separate journeys from 1984 The translators were a e to VlSl t permitted to photograph the
onwards, but, unfortunately, . were n :
shows the figures of Pad-
The seal of entrustment (gtad-rgya) 836
.
On Kong-ra Locen Zhenpen Dorje, see below, pp.
period. . 601
. .
has been explained above m thIS chapter, n.
For these four nvers, see 'dus-pa-dang Ihan-cig.
723-4; and for Lhatstin Jikme, pp. Spirituality requires
The practIce of the Black F. urt d . ulate the experiences whIch . Idarknessmor ertoSlm h
retreat III tota " is utilised to provide t e prac-
follow death. A "secret passageway th channel through which he . h £ d and also serves as e
titioner wIt 00. , . th the meditation master. or she can occasIOnally converse WI
See below, pp. 760-70. " t h i s form of Chinese honour was ti-shih, "Teacher of the - V See also nn. 811,817 above. adopted and conferred by Dalal Lama .
925 Seep. 783. . . S du Dorje. .
926 927
928 929
930
Presumably that ofprolcen . . am r pk Dor·e. The identificatIon of Lama Namdingpa IS Nam a )
Lama Zurcenpa is uncertam.
See pp. 681 and 799. . der (1584-1643) may be found
A brief biography of ndred Treasure-finders (gter-ston in Jamgon Kongtrtil, Llves OJ t e u .
brgya-rtsa), fols. 91b-93b.
h I urrents an
d · al points (rtsa-rlung-thlg-Ie), semm D· II" g
On energy c anne s, c
d 341. also Longcenpa, lspe m
see Fundamentals, PP: 27:-87 an 453ff (GGFTC, pp. 1006ff. ). Darkness in the Ten Dzrectwns, pp. .
68 Notes
949 Treasure doctrines (gter-chos) discovered since the time of Terdak
Lingpa have been known as new treasures (gter-gsar) in contrast to
those which were discovered earlier (gter-rnying).
950 Zhecen Monastery was founded in 1735 (wood tiger year) by Rap-
jam II, Gyurme Ktinzang Namgyel (b. 1713). Its history is detailed in Zhecen Gyeltsap, ie-chen chos-'byuiz. For a modern description in English, see TH, pp. 473-4. With the exception of Zhecen, the monas- teries mentioned here are discussed in the pages that follow.
951 I. e. the linear descendants of Terdak Lingpa.
952 See the biographical sketch of the Author in the Foreword.
953 See p. 833, n. 1137.
954 Again, see the Author's biographical sketch in the Foreword.
955 In general, Tshtiltrim Dorje is known as Sungtrtil II. See Aris, Bhutan,
p. 318, n. 70; and the Collected Works of Pema Lingpa (pad-gling
'khrungs-rabs-kyi rtogs-bry'od nyung-gsal dad-pa'i me-tog), Vol. Pha.
956 See below, pp. 859-68.
957 Thu'u-bkvan, Crystal Mirror ofPhilosophical Systems (grub-mtha' shel-
gyi me-long), p. 80.
958 On Thuken's view of the Nyingma tradition in general and the
background for this assertion, see M. Kapstein, "The Purificatory Gem and its Cleansing: A Late Tibetan Polemical Discussion of Apoc- ryphal texts" in The Tibetan Assim£lation ofBuddhism.
959 See pp. 813-17.
960 Mindroling was constructed at Traci in 1676 by Terdak Lingpa. For
a description, see TH, pp. 169-71; and PPCT, pp. 164-7.
961 Katok Rikdzin Tshewang Norbu was a master of extremely eclectic interests who played an instrumental role in the preservation of the then-suppressed Conangpa tradition. A great traveller, he visited Nepal
on at least three occasions during which he restored the stiipas of Bodhnath and Svayambhunath. As a skilled political negotiator he journeyed as far as Ladakh.
962 Dzokcen (Rudam Samten Choling) Monastery was founded in the year 1685 by Perna Rikdzin. For a description, seeTH, pp. 471-3.
963 Pelytil Monastery (Pelytil Namgyel Cangcup Choling) was founded in 1665 by Pelytil Rikdzin Ktinzang Sherap.
On the history ofthis monas- tery and its influence in both Kham and Amdo, see Ven. Lama Jampal Zangpo,A GarlandofImmortalJ Wish-fulfillingTrees;andTH,pp. 463-4.
964 See pp. 841-7.
965 These twenty-seven maI)<;ialas of the long lineage of transmitted pre-
cepts (bka'-ma) are also known as tshogs-chen 'dus-pa'i dkyil-'khor. They comprise all levels of teaching referred to within the nine vehicles, as stated on pp. 911-13; and in Fundamentals, pp. 364-5.
966 According to the Author's oral communication, the edition of the Transmitted Precepts (rnying-ma bka'-ma) referred to here was published xylographically at Pelytil Monastery in Kham.
HISTORY: PART SIX
967 The close lineage of treasures Cnye-brgyud gter-ma) is so called because the teachings formerly concealed by Guru Padmasambhava and others
History: Part Six 69 were . subsequently discovered and ro a .
lme oftheir transmission is :ated m more recent times. with the distant or long lineage of th s or close When COntrasted b:a'-ma), by which teachings were precepts (ring-brgyud t hr? ugh an chain of d own from earliest times
976
977
person;. ltberation by wearing (bta s- :z)resence of a. recently deceased yantra IS Worn or attached t h g gr ,when a CIrcular diagram or
mo f 0 t e shoulders h d d
ment 0 death (in life the di . ,ea an heart at the
cloth pouch or in the case of IS. w? rn aro:md the neck in a casket and tied in the topknots It within a golden
by_ taste (myang-grol) , When the flesh lr haIr); and liberation brahman or vegetarian over seven 0 . one. who has been born a ramental substance, is consum d SUcceSSIve lIves, or some other sac-
Onthesepr h . e.
. . op eCles,seeR Prats "S p"
968
969 970
971 972
973
'.
ec aratIOn IS attributed to Ratna tshes-bcu
974 975
The "fi .
. our ways of lIberation" are' l i ' .
whIch comes through seeing the ob' beratl? n by SIght (mthong-grol), speech and mind; liberation Wh. ICh represent the buddha- scnptIOn. ofthe bardo is narrated in eanng (thos-grol), When a de-
T IS prophetIc d 1
e masters
bskul-thabs.
See pp. 447-57, for an acco
The treasure lords (gter-bda 0
f h .
t. es. e
oath ofallegiance by are spiritual beings bound
hIS treasures.
Seeyp. 468-74 and 512-20 fi
a masambhava to protect and guard
. .
IndIa and Tibet in or the tradItIOns concerning his career in
I. e:. the western Tibetan districts ofN a . . .
? f U and Tsang, and the eastern d' t . g n afnd To, the central districts
IS ncts 0
y mgpa, bka -thanggser-phreng Ch 48 3
Kham and Amd0 respect- , . ,pp. 19ff. :
Treasures are divided into ei ht
fold group of secret treas g een types, namely, the four-
(zab) , mind treasures (g:ang). , treasures (dgongs); the fourfold grou gIf nd I? tentIOnal treasures life-supporting treasures (bf) treasures (rdzas),
treasures which liberate b a mmor treasures (phran) and of Indian treasures (rgy J (myong); the fourfold group
treasures(ry'e)andfather (bod), lordly
of mother treasures ( y ) a ), the threefold group um , neuter treasur ( .
outer treasures (phyi)' and 1 I h es ma-nzng) and treasures (nang) middl' ast y t e threefold group ofinner
Ively. AccordingtoSang eL'
,
wealth (nor-gter/ dam-rdzas.
mg treasures (bar) and treasures of
Erehmmary Considerations t early gTer-ston" in TSHR
' bIOgrap'hIes composed by Cangdak of these, refer to the first part of th KongtriiI. For fuII details
Ansmg from a Biographica'l Stud' pp. 256-60. Y0
Repre. sentative of these are the e a r l "
Trashl Topgyel and the later ones
b
Later Versions of the Biographies of' Z IblIography under Earlier and 'J t e Hundred Treasure-Finders.
70 Notes
History:PartSix 71 only from 1204 to 1213. Pawo TsuklakTrhengwa, mkhas-pa'i dga'-ston,
p. 260, and Jamgong Kongtrtil, Lives of the Hundred Treasure-finders, fo1. 49a. 5, concluded therefore that Nyang-rel passed away in 1204. Never- theless, see now the arguments of van der Kuijp, "On the Lives" (1994).
996 On this dike, see p. 656 and n. 802. Zhikpo Diitsi who restored the dike was a disciple of Nyang-rel, as indicated below.
997 Lesser adepts would be obliged to perform such wrathful rites of sorcery only on certain astrologically propitious days of the month.
998 Unattached Lotus Endowed (ma-chags padma-can) is the twelfth level of realisation. See Fundamentals, p. 254; and Longcenpa, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 430 (GGFTC, p. 975).
999 On thesefour Further Taming temples, see the Glossary ofEnumerations; also, p. 510 and n. 543.
1000 This was Jikten Gonpo (1143-1217), Phakmotrupa's foremost disciple and the founder of the Drigung Kagyti school. He was widely renowned as an incarnation of Nagarjuna. See Blue Annals, pp. 596ff.
1001 The ceremonial silk arrow (mda'-dar) is the emblem of Amitayus, symbolic of longevity. It is draped with five-coloured veils and bran- dished with a circular movement of the right hand.
1002 This calculation accords with the old Phukpa, Tshurpu and Phakpa schools. The year of Chowang's birth, 1212, falls within the fourth sexagenary cycle. Some sources say he was born in the water monkey year of the third cycle, but this is inconsistent with him meeting Sakya Pa1). qita at the age o f eighteen.
1003 The Litany of the Names of Mafijusri, v. 55c.
1004 According to Khenpo Palden Sherap, this is the preferred reading.
Our text wrongly reads sde-brgyud chen-po'i sgrung-'bum.
1005 The qakinI's four faces symbolise the four rites of enlightened activity: peaceful (white), expansive (yellow), overpowering (red) and wrathful (blue). The five-quilled arrow is indicative of the five pristine cogni-
tions, but also prophetically symbolises Chowang's future mastery of
certain treasure-troves.
1006 On this empowerment, see Fundamentals, p. 370. 1007 In Tibetan this verse reads:
sgyogs-dang dpag-chen than-dang cho-'phrul bzo-sna kyag-kyog rnams. . .
The early association of the treasure-finders with the military arts requires careful study. Perhaps, in this respect, they are to be compared with the sorcerers and alchemists of other medieval civilisations.
1008 See above, p. 713 and n. 908.
978 979
980 981
982
983 984
985
986
987 988
989
990 991
992
993
. . I D L Snellgrove and T. Skorupski, On this figure, see m partlcu ar . . P IlI
IH 'tgeofLadakhVol. 2, t. .
The Cultura en a . 'f Sangye Lama. See the Glossary of Choje Lingpa was an emanatlon 0 . h . Enumerations under thirteen incarnatIOns of Gyelse L arye.
See below, pp. . 855-8.
bbrev1ated empowermen
functions as the ma1). qala "":. h (spelt in Tibetan gra-pa mngon- e
Ostensibly the name Trapa }onsk endowed with supernormal cog-
shes) could be taken to mean. n in the text however, precludes nitive powers". The explanatlon gIve ,
this _ . . d b ' d - 'e bdud-'dul) , see Nebesky- On the Vajra Mara)lt (gno -s r 0 ry 77-8
. '
I. e. an a . hich the disCiple IS empowere .
t ritual in which a tonna sculpture
. . Or I and Demons of Tlbet, pp.
WOjkOW1tZ, ac es . . (h g-blon) is an epithet of the
.
Minister or Oracles and Demons of Tibet,
Vajra Mara)lt. See y d ) od-sbyin zhang-blon rdo-rje bdud- pp. 77-8, where he IS referre to as gn
books were formerly the property or "master copy" (bla-dpe) of King Trhisong. I 99 nd n 89 See also Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa:
Refer to Fundamenta s, p. a . .
Le systeme medical tibetain, pp. 85ff.
I 947 onthefoundmg0 raang
. f T t in 1081
See Blue Anna s, pp. . - , e which Trhisong Detsen re- Tshangpa Lhei Metok IS mandala at Chimpu by ceived when empowered m 0 534-5 For the kingly treasure-fin- Guru Padmasambhava. See 'the Glossary of Enumerations.
ders and three supreme f ang-rel would have occurred in
According to our text t )e 0 Tibetan Civilization, p. 74, 1124 (wood dragon year. '-rellived until the age of
ives 1136 (fire dragon year). Smce Nyang.
this date would be preferred, assummg hIs death occure
But see n. 995 below.
din 1204.
I. e. Buddha Sakyamuni. . g h -'bar)wasacontemporary The Rashak Treasure-finder raS-sha c Kongtrtil, Lives of the of Milarepa and N. gok Lotsawa. e_e J
Hundred Treasure-finders, pp. Kawacen lived from 1l2,6
n adept of Phadampa s to as a
to . . . 937
Pacificatlon, m the same sourci:' . th core of the Collected Works
'd 1211 Zhikpo Nyima Senge IS relerre
According to Blue Annals, pp. . C
See above, p. 511 n. 545. of the King concernzng the Mantra
to King Songtsen
Padme Hum", attributed J ? 'l. .
inalia chebula. Its uses and
994 Myrobalan (a-ru-ra) IS erm· I system are described in 1009 . d' gtotheTIbetanmed1ca . . d
properues accor m . r:b Buddhist Medzezne an T. Clifford, The Diamond Healzng: 1 etan
Psychiatry: p. 119. forN ang_rel'sdeath. ChakLotsawa 995 Ourtext gIves 1192 mouse) I y 1057-9 to have lived from Chojepel is m B. lue to below should 1197 to 1264. So It IS pOSSIble t at t e p to whom Blue Annals, pp.
be with his the less, it is
1054-6, assIgns the dates asrI (1127-1225) travelled m TIbet the same source, p. 1064, that ::>a Y
According to Mongolian sources, Tibet was first contacted by the emissaries of Chinggis Qan in 1206. But on this tradition, see L. Kwanten, "Chingis Khan's Conquest of Tibet: Myth or Reality" Jour- nal of Asian History 8 (1974), pp. 1-20; and T. V. Wylie, "The First Mongol Conquest of Tibet Reinterpreted" Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 37 (1977), pp. 103-33. Then, in 1239 (earth pig) Godan, the second son of Ogodai, sent an army into Tibet under the general Dorta the Black and Gyelmen. That the force reached as far as Reting (rva- . sgrengs) and Gyel Lhakang is undisputed; however there are varying
d
.
rises to assume a m a gl:eindication of their continuing
often maintain the ongma tit e as a 901
f C
lar sou
The sacred mountam 0
. . th sternYunnan. ee , .
service to the lineage itself. . £ the fifteen ordinary sacraments (of See the Glossary of Together with the three empower-
empowerment); als. o Fundamenta the' form the eighteen empowerments mentsofprofundity(zab-dbanggsu) y. e ten outer empowerments
of Mahayoga. five inner empowerments of f b fi e (Ph"l phan-pa l a n g ,
902
903
904
905 906
907 908
909
910
911
I ) and the three secret empowerments of profundity (gsang-ba za ;;mo b· t· ns pp 370-9 (GGFTC,
o ene lcenc :. . Y,.
ability (nang nus-pa 1 dbang n:a ,. dbang gsum). Cf. Longcenpa,
Annals, pp. 160-7. . £
See the Glossary of Enumerations. or I ter has also been referred
the five awakenings. Their gen- h b· th of an emanatIona mas . f
eration at t e Ir , r£ 64S above. At the I1me to in the account of Dropukpa sfi 1 e, excellences (,bras-bu 1 enlightenment they bring the buddha-body of phun-sum-tshogs-pa Inga) (S:mantabhadra in the form of V. aJ- rapture, namely, those of teac e r . (Conquerors of the FIve radhara), place time Enlightened FamIlIes and lev) d teaching (ultimate truth m timeless continuity of the 1) Here five parallel ac- which samsara and nirval). a are. 1 zompa are poetically. tod. 's gtreatise' on which see
Fundamenta s, pp'. . ' . Indian poetics studIed m TIbet.
0 1 a real savant would have een n y
familiar with, e. g. ,
For contemporary TIbetan VIews on
the Vivarta or Vartula script, see
66 Notes
History: Part Five 67 931 These are aspects of dream yoga (rmi-lam), for a general introduction
to which see, e. g. , W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doc-
trines, pp. 215ff.
9 3 2 T h e I n d e s t r u c t i b l e N u c l e u s o f I n n e r R a d i a n c e i s t h e d i m e n s i o n o f t h e
buddha-body of reality (dharmakaya); see Fundamentals, p. 115.
933 dgung-keg. This refers to any year, i. e. one's thirteenth, twenty-fIfth, thirty- seventh and so on, in which the animal sign is the same as that under which one
was born. See G. Dorje, Tibetan Elemental DivinaJion Paintings, pp. 229-31. 934 Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Mkhyen-brtse on the History ofthe Dharma, pp. 40-1, defines the trio of Guru, Great Perfection and Great Compas-
sionate One as follows:
The blessed cycles of the peaceful and wrathful Guru. . . ;
the cycles of the Great Perfection, the consummation of all profound paths. . . ; and the cycles for the attainment of the Great Compassionate One, the divine fortune of Tibet, the Land of Snows. . .
935 See above, p. 701.
936 grva'i-dbang-bum. We follow here the explanation of Khetsun Zangpo
Rinpoche.
937 See pp. 825-34.
938 The date of Sangdak Trhinle Lhtindrup's death is calculated according to the new Phukpa school since it has been recorded by his son Dhar- masrI. The date according to the old Phukpa school would have read Sunday 2 March 1662.
939 This is a sign of proficiency in the transference of consciousness ('pho- ba) through which, at the moment of death, one can take rebirth in a pure land or buddha-field such as SukhavatI.
940 bca'.
941 Yangdok (yang-bzlog) is propitiated as a means of averting war and
other unfavourable conditions; it derives from the maI)<;iala ofYangdak Heruka. Drangsong Loktri is a sage and protector from the maI)<;iala of Yamantaka (Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche).
942 As stated in the Fundamentals, p. 104, rtsis dkar-nag reters to Indian astronomy (dkar-rtsis) and Chinese divination (nag-rtsis or 'byung-rtsis).
943 On the rites of service, further service, attainment and great attainment, see n. 499 above.
944 See p. 828.
945 The conferral of every empowerment of the way of secret mantra must
include the disciple's affirmation of the vows of refuge and of the cultivation of the enlightened attitude, in addition to the specific com- mitments associated with the empowerment. Often the layman's vows must be affirmed as well. Cf. the quotation from the Hevajra Tantra given on p. 911.
946 See n. 892 above.
947 Svarodaya is a profound branch of Indian divination and numerology
ascribed to Isvara in its origin. Refer to the life of Mipham Rinpoche
on p. 890; and also to Fundamentals, p. 104.
948 His own extensive commentary on this text, called dpag-bsam snye-ma,
is doubtlessly the most influential one amongst modern Nyingmapa. On the Ascertainment of the Three Vows itself, see p. 808.
912 9 1 3
914
915
916
. .
I a s) and Shel (she! ) are protective
917 918
919
920
921
922
923
924
hich
exquisitely embossed and in which the kIla is kept.
masambhava,Darcaan a ya . . 8
On Ngari PaI)cen, see below, Sakyapa scholars of the This figure (b. 1524) was one 0
with VajrakIla. Our erroneo
C'
usly reads rang lor rong.
T h e t n o o f a c c o r d i n g t o t h r e e d i f f e r e n t k m d s associated wIth Va)raklla, an
. I k-lla - briar iron and crystal. of matena '
n the four modes of life (asrama) The fifth path . death These are the way of the celibate prevalent in cof the· householder (grhasthf), the way
zhal 'chos-pa.
student (brahmacan), _t e w _) of the forest-dweller (ara1Jyavasl
d the way of the homeless mendic-
ant (sannyasf! . HP se-ra phur-mJal. See KG
100-1. The kIla itself is only seen '. pp. ecial empowerment conferred by
an
publicly once each seventeenth of the twelfth month the abbot of Sera Ce 0 I brations. The annual ceremony has as a prelude to the New ear ce e t r community in exile in Mysore,
been maintained by th: Sera e : shrine of the secret attainment India, but the actual remams mbt . : Sera itself. Since 1980, with of Hayagrlva ) . 1 t"ons on the practice of religion the partial relaxatIon of Ian important pilgrimage site.
in Tibet, the shrine . t separate journeys from 1984 The translators were a e to VlSl t permitted to photograph the
onwards, but, unfortunately, . were n :
shows the figures of Pad-
The seal of entrustment (gtad-rgya) 836
.
On Kong-ra Locen Zhenpen Dorje, see below, pp.
period. . 601
. .
has been explained above m thIS chapter, n.
For these four nvers, see 'dus-pa-dang Ihan-cig.
723-4; and for Lhatstin Jikme, pp. Spirituality requires
The practIce of the Black F. urt d . ulate the experiences whIch . Idarknessmor ertoSlm h
retreat III tota " is utilised to provide t e prac-
follow death. A "secret passageway th channel through which he . h £ d and also serves as e
titioner wIt 00. , . th the meditation master. or she can occasIOnally converse WI
See below, pp. 760-70. " t h i s form of Chinese honour was ti-shih, "Teacher of the - V See also nn. 811,817 above. adopted and conferred by Dalal Lama .
925 Seep. 783. . . S du Dorje. .
926 927
928 929
930
Presumably that ofprolcen . . am r pk Dor·e. The identificatIon of Lama Namdingpa IS Nam a )
Lama Zurcenpa is uncertam.
See pp. 681 and 799. . der (1584-1643) may be found
A brief biography of ndred Treasure-finders (gter-ston in Jamgon Kongtrtil, Llves OJ t e u .
brgya-rtsa), fols. 91b-93b.
h I urrents an
d · al points (rtsa-rlung-thlg-Ie), semm D· II" g
On energy c anne s, c
d 341. also Longcenpa, lspe m
see Fundamentals, PP: 27:-87 an 453ff (GGFTC, pp. 1006ff. ). Darkness in the Ten Dzrectwns, pp. .
68 Notes
949 Treasure doctrines (gter-chos) discovered since the time of Terdak
Lingpa have been known as new treasures (gter-gsar) in contrast to
those which were discovered earlier (gter-rnying).
950 Zhecen Monastery was founded in 1735 (wood tiger year) by Rap-
jam II, Gyurme Ktinzang Namgyel (b. 1713). Its history is detailed in Zhecen Gyeltsap, ie-chen chos-'byuiz. For a modern description in English, see TH, pp. 473-4. With the exception of Zhecen, the monas- teries mentioned here are discussed in the pages that follow.
951 I. e. the linear descendants of Terdak Lingpa.
952 See the biographical sketch of the Author in the Foreword.
953 See p. 833, n. 1137.
954 Again, see the Author's biographical sketch in the Foreword.
955 In general, Tshtiltrim Dorje is known as Sungtrtil II. See Aris, Bhutan,
p. 318, n. 70; and the Collected Works of Pema Lingpa (pad-gling
'khrungs-rabs-kyi rtogs-bry'od nyung-gsal dad-pa'i me-tog), Vol. Pha.
956 See below, pp. 859-68.
957 Thu'u-bkvan, Crystal Mirror ofPhilosophical Systems (grub-mtha' shel-
gyi me-long), p. 80.
958 On Thuken's view of the Nyingma tradition in general and the
background for this assertion, see M. Kapstein, "The Purificatory Gem and its Cleansing: A Late Tibetan Polemical Discussion of Apoc- ryphal texts" in The Tibetan Assim£lation ofBuddhism.
959 See pp. 813-17.
960 Mindroling was constructed at Traci in 1676 by Terdak Lingpa. For
a description, see TH, pp. 169-71; and PPCT, pp. 164-7.
961 Katok Rikdzin Tshewang Norbu was a master of extremely eclectic interests who played an instrumental role in the preservation of the then-suppressed Conangpa tradition. A great traveller, he visited Nepal
on at least three occasions during which he restored the stiipas of Bodhnath and Svayambhunath. As a skilled political negotiator he journeyed as far as Ladakh.
962 Dzokcen (Rudam Samten Choling) Monastery was founded in the year 1685 by Perna Rikdzin. For a description, seeTH, pp. 471-3.
963 Pelytil Monastery (Pelytil Namgyel Cangcup Choling) was founded in 1665 by Pelytil Rikdzin Ktinzang Sherap.
On the history ofthis monas- tery and its influence in both Kham and Amdo, see Ven. Lama Jampal Zangpo,A GarlandofImmortalJ Wish-fulfillingTrees;andTH,pp. 463-4.
964 See pp. 841-7.
965 These twenty-seven maI)<;ialas of the long lineage of transmitted pre-
cepts (bka'-ma) are also known as tshogs-chen 'dus-pa'i dkyil-'khor. They comprise all levels of teaching referred to within the nine vehicles, as stated on pp. 911-13; and in Fundamentals, pp. 364-5.
966 According to the Author's oral communication, the edition of the Transmitted Precepts (rnying-ma bka'-ma) referred to here was published xylographically at Pelytil Monastery in Kham.
HISTORY: PART SIX
967 The close lineage of treasures Cnye-brgyud gter-ma) is so called because the teachings formerly concealed by Guru Padmasambhava and others
History: Part Six 69 were . subsequently discovered and ro a .
lme oftheir transmission is :ated m more recent times. with the distant or long lineage of th s or close When COntrasted b:a'-ma), by which teachings were precepts (ring-brgyud t hr? ugh an chain of d own from earliest times
976
977
person;. ltberation by wearing (bta s- :z)resence of a. recently deceased yantra IS Worn or attached t h g gr ,when a CIrcular diagram or
mo f 0 t e shoulders h d d
ment 0 death (in life the di . ,ea an heart at the
cloth pouch or in the case of IS. w? rn aro:md the neck in a casket and tied in the topknots It within a golden
by_ taste (myang-grol) , When the flesh lr haIr); and liberation brahman or vegetarian over seven 0 . one. who has been born a ramental substance, is consum d SUcceSSIve lIves, or some other sac-
Onthesepr h . e.
. . op eCles,seeR Prats "S p"
968
969 970
971 972
973
'.
ec aratIOn IS attributed to Ratna tshes-bcu
974 975
The "fi .
. our ways of lIberation" are' l i ' .
whIch comes through seeing the ob' beratl? n by SIght (mthong-grol), speech and mind; liberation Wh. ICh represent the buddha- scnptIOn. ofthe bardo is narrated in eanng (thos-grol), When a de-
T IS prophetIc d 1
e masters
bskul-thabs.
See pp. 447-57, for an acco
The treasure lords (gter-bda 0
f h .
t. es. e
oath ofallegiance by are spiritual beings bound
hIS treasures.
Seeyp. 468-74 and 512-20 fi
a masambhava to protect and guard
. .
IndIa and Tibet in or the tradItIOns concerning his career in
I. e:. the western Tibetan districts ofN a . . .
? f U and Tsang, and the eastern d' t . g n afnd To, the central districts
IS ncts 0
y mgpa, bka -thanggser-phreng Ch 48 3
Kham and Amd0 respect- , . ,pp. 19ff. :
Treasures are divided into ei ht
fold group of secret treas g een types, namely, the four-
(zab) , mind treasures (g:ang). , treasures (dgongs); the fourfold grou gIf nd I? tentIOnal treasures life-supporting treasures (bf) treasures (rdzas),
treasures which liberate b a mmor treasures (phran) and of Indian treasures (rgy J (myong); the fourfold group
treasures(ry'e)andfather (bod), lordly
of mother treasures ( y ) a ), the threefold group um , neuter treasur ( .
outer treasures (phyi)' and 1 I h es ma-nzng) and treasures (nang) middl' ast y t e threefold group ofinner
Ively. AccordingtoSang eL'
,
wealth (nor-gter/ dam-rdzas.
mg treasures (bar) and treasures of
Erehmmary Considerations t early gTer-ston" in TSHR
' bIOgrap'hIes composed by Cangdak of these, refer to the first part of th KongtriiI. For fuII details
Ansmg from a Biographica'l Stud' pp. 256-60. Y0
Repre. sentative of these are the e a r l "
Trashl Topgyel and the later ones
b
Later Versions of the Biographies of' Z IblIography under Earlier and 'J t e Hundred Treasure-Finders.
70 Notes
History:PartSix 71 only from 1204 to 1213. Pawo TsuklakTrhengwa, mkhas-pa'i dga'-ston,
p. 260, and Jamgong Kongtrtil, Lives of the Hundred Treasure-finders, fo1. 49a. 5, concluded therefore that Nyang-rel passed away in 1204. Never- theless, see now the arguments of van der Kuijp, "On the Lives" (1994).
996 On this dike, see p. 656 and n. 802. Zhikpo Diitsi who restored the dike was a disciple of Nyang-rel, as indicated below.
997 Lesser adepts would be obliged to perform such wrathful rites of sorcery only on certain astrologically propitious days of the month.
998 Unattached Lotus Endowed (ma-chags padma-can) is the twelfth level of realisation. See Fundamentals, p. 254; and Longcenpa, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 430 (GGFTC, p. 975).
999 On thesefour Further Taming temples, see the Glossary ofEnumerations; also, p. 510 and n. 543.
1000 This was Jikten Gonpo (1143-1217), Phakmotrupa's foremost disciple and the founder of the Drigung Kagyti school. He was widely renowned as an incarnation of Nagarjuna. See Blue Annals, pp. 596ff.
1001 The ceremonial silk arrow (mda'-dar) is the emblem of Amitayus, symbolic of longevity. It is draped with five-coloured veils and bran- dished with a circular movement of the right hand.
1002 This calculation accords with the old Phukpa, Tshurpu and Phakpa schools. The year of Chowang's birth, 1212, falls within the fourth sexagenary cycle. Some sources say he was born in the water monkey year of the third cycle, but this is inconsistent with him meeting Sakya Pa1). qita at the age o f eighteen.
1003 The Litany of the Names of Mafijusri, v. 55c.
1004 According to Khenpo Palden Sherap, this is the preferred reading.
Our text wrongly reads sde-brgyud chen-po'i sgrung-'bum.
1005 The qakinI's four faces symbolise the four rites of enlightened activity: peaceful (white), expansive (yellow), overpowering (red) and wrathful (blue). The five-quilled arrow is indicative of the five pristine cogni-
tions, but also prophetically symbolises Chowang's future mastery of
certain treasure-troves.
1006 On this empowerment, see Fundamentals, p. 370. 1007 In Tibetan this verse reads:
sgyogs-dang dpag-chen than-dang cho-'phrul bzo-sna kyag-kyog rnams. . .
The early association of the treasure-finders with the military arts requires careful study. Perhaps, in this respect, they are to be compared with the sorcerers and alchemists of other medieval civilisations.
1008 See above, p. 713 and n. 908.
978 979
980 981
982
983 984
985
986
987 988
989
990 991
992
993
. . I D L Snellgrove and T. Skorupski, On this figure, see m partlcu ar . . P IlI
IH 'tgeofLadakhVol. 2, t. .
The Cultura en a . 'f Sangye Lama. See the Glossary of Choje Lingpa was an emanatlon 0 . h . Enumerations under thirteen incarnatIOns of Gyelse L arye.
See below, pp. . 855-8.
bbrev1ated empowermen
functions as the ma1). qala "":. h (spelt in Tibetan gra-pa mngon- e
Ostensibly the name Trapa }onsk endowed with supernormal cog-
shes) could be taken to mean. n in the text however, precludes nitive powers". The explanatlon gIve ,
this _ . . d b ' d - 'e bdud-'dul) , see Nebesky- On the Vajra Mara)lt (gno -s r 0 ry 77-8
. '
I. e. an a . hich the disCiple IS empowere .
t ritual in which a tonna sculpture
. . Or I and Demons of Tlbet, pp.
WOjkOW1tZ, ac es . . (h g-blon) is an epithet of the
.
Minister or Oracles and Demons of Tibet,
Vajra Mara)lt. See y d ) od-sbyin zhang-blon rdo-rje bdud- pp. 77-8, where he IS referre to as gn
books were formerly the property or "master copy" (bla-dpe) of King Trhisong. I 99 nd n 89 See also Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa:
Refer to Fundamenta s, p. a . .
Le systeme medical tibetain, pp. 85ff.
I 947 onthefoundmg0 raang
. f T t in 1081
See Blue Anna s, pp. . - , e which Trhisong Detsen re- Tshangpa Lhei Metok IS mandala at Chimpu by ceived when empowered m 0 534-5 For the kingly treasure-fin- Guru Padmasambhava. See 'the Glossary of Enumerations.
ders and three supreme f ang-rel would have occurred in
According to our text t )e 0 Tibetan Civilization, p. 74, 1124 (wood dragon year. '-rellived until the age of
ives 1136 (fire dragon year). Smce Nyang.
this date would be preferred, assummg hIs death occure
But see n. 995 below.
din 1204.
I. e. Buddha Sakyamuni. . g h -'bar)wasacontemporary The Rashak Treasure-finder raS-sha c Kongtrtil, Lives of the of Milarepa and N. gok Lotsawa. e_e J
Hundred Treasure-finders, pp. Kawacen lived from 1l2,6
n adept of Phadampa s to as a
to . . . 937
Pacificatlon, m the same sourci:' . th core of the Collected Works
'd 1211 Zhikpo Nyima Senge IS relerre
According to Blue Annals, pp. . C
See above, p. 511 n. 545. of the King concernzng the Mantra
to King Songtsen
Padme Hum", attributed J ? 'l. .
inalia chebula. Its uses and
994 Myrobalan (a-ru-ra) IS erm· I system are described in 1009 . d' gtotheTIbetanmed1ca . . d
properues accor m . r:b Buddhist Medzezne an T. Clifford, The Diamond Healzng: 1 etan
Psychiatry: p. 119. forN ang_rel'sdeath. ChakLotsawa 995 Ourtext gIves 1192 mouse) I y 1057-9 to have lived from Chojepel is m B. lue to below should 1197 to 1264. So It IS pOSSIble t at t e p to whom Blue Annals, pp.
be with his the less, it is
1054-6, assIgns the dates asrI (1127-1225) travelled m TIbet the same source, p. 1064, that ::>a Y
According to Mongolian sources, Tibet was first contacted by the emissaries of Chinggis Qan in 1206. But on this tradition, see L. Kwanten, "Chingis Khan's Conquest of Tibet: Myth or Reality" Jour- nal of Asian History 8 (1974), pp. 1-20; and T. V. Wylie, "The First Mongol Conquest of Tibet Reinterpreted" Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 37 (1977), pp. 103-33. Then, in 1239 (earth pig) Godan, the second son of Ogodai, sent an army into Tibet under the general Dorta the Black and Gyelmen. That the force reached as far as Reting (rva- . sgrengs) and Gyel Lhakang is undisputed; however there are varying
d
.
